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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Amelie Ramirez, DrPH¹, Kipling Gallion, MA¹, Sandra San Miguel, MPH², and Sandra Garcia, MPH². (1) Dept of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 8702 Callaghan Rd, Suite 110, San Antonio, TX 78230, 210 348 0255, gallion@uthscsa.edu, (2) Dept of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, 8702 Callaghan Rd, Suite 110, san antonio, TX 78230

This study is assessing and comparing attitudes among cancer patients who participate and those that don't participate in EPCTs. Cancer patients (50) who have participated in EPCTs completed surveys with sections on demographics, information seeking preferences, enabling factors and barriers to EPCT participation. Among patients that had participated in EPCTs, most patients (86%) cited their doctor as the strongest influence for participation in CTs and the highest-rated CT enabling factors were trust and hope from research, encouragement from one's doctor, family support and helping future cancer patients. Main barriers were knowledge, poor communication, reluctance to ask questions and lack referral by doctor to CTs. With socio-economic and environment barriers to participation in CTs, the group consistently (over 80%) felt that insurance, travel costs, geographic distance, travel time, lack of social support and frequency of treatment visits were strong barriers. Lastly, looking at barriers relating to attitudes and beliefs, the group was almost as strong in its concurrence about key barriers such as hopelessness, fear of side effects, fatalism and religious beliefs, cancer as a death sentence and fear of being a guinea pig for research. Interestingly these all exceed language as a perceived barrier to CTs although 50% did cite language as a barrier. Data collection on those patients who did not participate in EPCTs (n=50) is just completed and analysis beginning. Our APHA presentation will contrast these two groups and make recommendations for reducing barriers to EPCT participation.

Learning Objectives: